Since that point France has repeatedly been called the best
system in the world, to the point where doing so became a cliche.

Unfortunately, the world isn't quite so simple, and critics argue
that searching for the "best" healthcare system in the world may
be futile — there's simply too many variables to produce
meaningful results. WHO's report in particular has been
criticized for the weight
it gave to cost efficiency, healthy living, and life
expectancy (the organization apparently declined to rank
countries in the 2010 World Health Report).

More importantly, however, is the fact that the French system and
the US system actually share some key similarities.

It's tempting for Americans to compare their healthcare systems
to that of English-speaking countries like the UK and conclude
that things aren't so bad, or that the systems are so different
that change is impossible. The UK in particular has a
full-National Health Service that is subject to near constant
negative coverage from the UK tabloids and appears
to be entering the first stages of privatization —
hardly enticing.

Like the American system, the French system prides itself on
choice. "The vast majority of ambulatory care physicians in
France are in private practice and patients enjoy extraordinary
freedom of choice among them. Virtually all primary care
providers and specialists participate in the nation's public
health insurance system, Sécurité
Sociale", Dutton writes.
Notably, France also has the largest private hospital system in
Europe.

Crucially, the French system shows how the American system could
grow.The French system of National Health Insurance that evolved
slowly to meet needs, Victor G. Rodwin wrote in a 2004 academic
article, "The
Health Care System Under French National Health Insurance:
Lessons for Health Reform in the United States". Rodwin
argues that "patchwork accumulation of federal, state, and
employer-sponsored plans" could gradually work in the US, as long
as the country decides to "recognize the legitimate role of
government in overseeing the rules and framework within which
these actors operate."